Long story short, I've been following a reduced-carb diet for the past several months but was alarmed by several online articles about the potential for electrolyte loss that's sometimes associated with it. That's something I'd like to avoid, especially since I work in an environment where it gets hot innthe warmer months. Will I be okay as long as I stay out of ketosis?

I am in no way dispensing advice - medical, or otherwise.I’m simply stating what I know and do:

Looking at this from a combination electrolyte-loss and dehydration perspective...

Carbs result in water retention. Without them, sodium becomes the next practical medium for that. For what it’s worth, Palumbo advocates adjusting (increasing) sodium intake to offset carb absence/reduction.

I’ve done a very strict keto diet several times. I also use a generous amount of salt on and in my foods. Consequently, I perspire at hyperhydrosis levels, although I’ve never been formally diagnosed with the condition.

I’ve NEVER experienced critical electrolyte depletion levels.

Nonetheless, I invested in a supply of Nuun tablets for my hot weather summer keto rounds. If you are concerned about electrolyte deficiencies, you may wish to consider researching them a bit: http://nuunlife.com

Years ago, steel mill workers used to eat salt candies to replenish what they lost through excessive sweating on the job. Nuun tablets work along similar lines, albeit a little more sophisticated in formula than their Great Depression-era counterparts.

I hope my account and information above is at least somewhat useful to you.

Thanks for the detailed post, Montague. I just ordered a container of Dr. Berg’s Electrolyte Powder off Amazon; that should help.

From what I've read, it's ketosis that causes potential electrolyte problems. Will I be "safer" if I consumed 100 or so carbs?

Can you post one or two links to these claims?Only if it’s handy; don’t go out of your way. I was just curious about the details.

I’ve conducted quite a bit of personal research on nutritional ketosis - including risks/side effects - and I don’t recall coming across anything about electrolyte deficiencies.I’m not saying it isn’t legitimate, but I wonder if it’s maybe one of those things that only affects a comparatively small percentage of people and/or under rare circumstances.

Regardless, 50-100 grams of carbs daily can often be considered “low-carb.”My own opinion is that low carb diets benefit everyone.Maybe consider adding a bit of carbs AND a bit of electrolytes together.

Personally (and, again, this is just me doing my thing), I would favor utilizing supplemental forms of electrolytes rather than consuming carbs for our purposes. There’s even quite a few exogenous ketone salt products now that can spike the body’s ketone levels while providing some sodium. That’s a nice one-two punch! Some formulas even contain various other ingredients. I’m very fond of the benefits moderate-high level ketosis provides.

I suspect this is one of those matters for which there are no right or wrong answers, or good or bad answers. Everyone's different, and could easily and likely respond differently to the same thing. The idea is finding what works best for you.

Thanks for the detailed post, Montague. I just ordered a container of Dr. Berg’s Electrolyte Powder off Amazon; that should help.

From what I've read, it's ketosis that causes potential electrolyte problems. Will I be "safer" if I consumed 100 or so carbs?

To me 100 grams is not low carb. Dr Berg is a good source watch his videos if haven't already. Make sure to take in plenty of salt and other vegetables containing magnesium and potassium. I imagine the electrolyte powder will help. Good luck.

Thanks for posting these links. I love reading about stuff like this, and I was unaware of these specific effects of high dietary fat intake. I hope they devote some more research to this matter. We NEED to better understand this subject.

So not only is this high-fat diet increasing the number of stem cells, and therefore the number of target cells that can accumulate cancer-driving mutations, but it also increases the pool of cells that can undergo tumor formation, Yilmaz explained.

This conclusion suggests to me that high fat consumption can increase the number of cells that have potential to mutate into cancer, but it doesn’t directly cause the full mutation of them.

Conversely, glycolytic cancer cells such as those found in glioblastoma thrive on carbohydrates, as glycogen is a tremendous fuel source for them. These cells cannot, however, metabolize ketones very efficiently at all, and there are studies now indicating that a ketogenic diet can in essence “metabolically starve” these cells, weakening them.

Ketones also have the ability to increase the sensitivity of many tumor tissues to the efficacy of anti-cancer agents, while increasing healthy cells’ protection against the toxicity of chemo drugs.

I’m now seeing the catch-22…

Dietary fat increases the number of potentially problematic cells.Carbs fuel the growth of the mutated cells.

This is why we need more research on these matters.Unfortunately, it’s very difficult for places to get funding to conduct studies on metabolic therapies. Pharmaceutical companies don’t stand to make any money from a particular "diet," so why fund researching them?

They present some very good points about complications that “could” arise for some individuals, but they are certainly not blanket guarantees that everyone will suffer from.

I have encountered reports of people dealing with “keto-flu” symptoms, but I’ve only experienced very fast and smooth transitions into ketosis from a “regular” diet.

Personally, I wouldn’t let the concerns you mention stop me from doing a low-carb or even keto diet. I also think the blog you linked contains some very good advice for combatting potential sides, and rather than using it as a deterrent, I would use it as a reference source if I encountered any of the issues they discuss.

Additionally, I suspect food selection plays a part in the likelihood of a person encountering deficiencies while on the diet. I consume a can of sardines daily when on keto, which are packed full of a variety of minerals. I also usually include spinach and often avocados, which contain a good dose of micronutrients.

A more limited diet like, say, red meat and water only, may more likely lead to problems cited earlier in this thread, whereas an intelligent food variety will probably offset them.

I was feeling a tad "off" towards the middle of last week and attributed it to following the Keto diet, but I think it had more to do with the caffeine- and yohimbe-heavy preworkout I was using. I prefer the low-carb diet out of all the options, so I'll continue to follow it and to make sure to incorporate more potassium-rich foods, especially during the warmer months.

I was feeling a tad "off" towards the middle of last week and attributed it to following the Keto diet, but I think it had more to do with the caffeine- and yohimbe-heavy preworkout I was using. I prefer the low-carb diet out of all the options, so I'll continue to follow it and to make sure to incorporate more potassium-rich foods, especially during the warmer months.

All I know is that my routine health screenings have had MUCH better results than ever before in my life, ever since I got serious about weight training and stuck to a mostly high-protein, lower-carb nutritional intake.

All I know is that my routine health screenings have had MUCH better results than ever before in my life, ever since I got serious about weight training and stuck to a mostly high-protein, lower-carb nutritional intake.

That's great news!

Low-carb diets have a very systemic effect on the body.While not the one I want, this Pub Med abstract describes the influence of simple sugars (in combination with other food sources) on sodium-related hypertension: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27566757

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diets similar to the typical Western diet, which is rich in saturated fats, sucrose, and fructose, together with excessive alcohol consumption, may exacerbate salt-sensitive changes in blood pressure.

There's a better one that more isolates carbohydrate's effects on blood pressure levels, but I haven't got time to locate it now. If you're interested, I'll look for it later. I like it because it "de-demonizes" salt as a high BP culprit.

Salt is NOT the sole catalyst for high blood pressure. It's merely "a" problematic factor in the presence of other ones... like carbs.